Child's Play
by LordByronMudkippington
Summary: After learning that Maki wishes she could've experienced regular childhood moments, Nozomi sets out to help her experience some things she's missed. [Art by Nyet-Nyet.]


When Nozomi woke up, she was not happy to learn that it was the middle of the night. Rather than waking up at an even ten in the morning, her alarm clock revealed that it was one instead. Her bladder didn't seem to care that she needed her beauty sleep, so with a grumble she pushed the covers off of herself and got out of bed, stumbling to the bathroom.

When she got back to the bedroom, she was about to flop down onto the bed and fall right back asleep when she realized that the bed was flatter on its surface than it should've been. Patting the covers down, her tired brain came to the conclusion that Maki wasn't there. Being at university while Maki was in her final year of high school meant they didn't get to see each other often, so having Maki sleep over in her dorm made Nozomi happy. Now the redhead had disappeared, though... Where had she gone off to?

Still in a sleep-addled state, Nozomi again stumbled out of her room, standing in her living space with a slack expression on her face. Her brain didn't want her to do the complex task of looking around, but she forced it to do just that. It didn't take long to realize that she had walked right past Maki without even realizing it. She was standing on the balcony, pajama-clad with her jacket on over them. Nozomi couldn't come up with a reason for why Maki was there, so she shuffled over to find out.

Opening the sliding glass door seemed to startle Maki, who whipped around with wide eyes before relaxing when she recognized who it was. "Oh, Nozomi. I... didn't think you'd be awake." A fair assumption, considering the time. Then again, she could say the same to Maki, using the same time metric. Suppressing a body-shaking yawn, she hugged Maki and laid her head on the redhead's shoulder, pouting sleepily even though Maki couldn't see it.

"You're cold," she murmured, hugging Maki tighter in a vain attempt to transfer her own body heat. The sound of rain echoed in her ears, pounding against the pavement below as it mixed with Maki's quiet breathing. Her mind was still half-asleep, but the seeds of concern were starting to awaken ever-so slightly. This all seemed like a very reflective moment. When it came to Maki, that probably meant it was something she was trying to hide. "Why don't you come inside? The bed's warmer."

Maki chuckled, wrapping her arms around Nozomi's back. "I think that's the first time you've said that in a non-sexual manner." She leaned her head back slightly, sighing softly. This made Nozomi fall from her shoulder, and they made full eye contact. There was definitely something somber in Maki's eyes, but Nozomi wasn't sure what was causing it. The fact that she didn't know made her heart ache. "I hope I didn't wake you. I just... needed somewhere to breathe and think for a little bit."

Ah... So it was contemplative in nature. She had figured that was the case. Her arms loosened around Maki, which allowed her to smile slightly before turning around and leaning against the railing once again. Nozomi followed suit, curiously eyeing Maki's face as she stared out into the rain, watching it lash against trees and the other dormitory buildings. "All you need is a cigarette and you'd look like the perfect model contemplating her acting career."

"How do you think I keep so thin?" Maki replied dryly. She sighed again, her chest gently rising and falling with each breath she took. The pale moonlight framed her beautifully. "Hey, Nozomi? Do you... ever have any regrets?" Nozomi was surprised to hear that. Not just that Maki was admitting - in a roundabout way - that she had regrets in her life, but that she was opening up about something like this. Even when they started dating right after Nozomi's graduation ceremony, Maki had still been rather reserved about her emotions. It was a nut even she had trouble cracking at times, so this really came out of the blue.

"Well, yeah. I'm sure everybody does." She kept her gaze on Maki, wishing she knew what was going on inside that big, beautiful mind of hers. It was a wonderful machine, but too often it was completely closed to the public. She must've been waking up more to come up with those metaphors. "Do you have any?" Even though Maki had opened up a bit, she still felt like she would be shut down at that point. She'd probably start to blush and mumble out a 'no' while demanding they go inside.

She was quiet at first, not giving an answer as she stared off into the rain. "Actually... Yeah, I do. A few." She smiled, but it was a hollow smile, a tinge of bitterness on the corners. "Do you remember anything about your childhood?" Such a strange question. It made Nozomi feel like she was in therapy, or perhaps suffering a case of amnesia.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Plenty of things. Riding bikes, building sandcastles, stuff like that. Do you mean something specific? Like my favorite childhood memory?" Maki shook her head, rolling back her right sleeve and reaching out from the balcony. Rain began to splash against her open palm.

"No, just... in general." She looked sad, like a resigned sad rather than she was about to burst into tears. It didn't make it any easier to see, though. To stand there and not know what to do. "I never really got to have that childhood. I was always inside studying or learning how to be more mature. Prim and proper, papa always said. The piano was the only thing I had that was really fun. It was something I wanted to do." Nozomi's eyes widened as she began to understand what Maki had been thinking about out here. "Everything else, even now... it's what I have to do. For my GPA, for my career, for my family legacy... It wasn't like there was anything else for me to do, though. I wasn't exactly the easiest person to get along with. Nobody wanted to be near me unless it was to help them with school. I was the nerdy bitch with the attitude problem. Doesn't play well with others."

"Maki..." Nozomi placed a hand on Maki's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Just because Maki wasn't a social person didn't mean she didn't deserve friends, or to be loved. These were all things she had guessed at over the past two years, but hearing Maki say it made it much more real, and much more heart-wrenching.

"I didn't regret it, though. Not back then." Maki continued on, pulling her hand back and gently shaking the excess water off. She looked away from the rain and towards Nozomi instead. "It was all I knew, so I just figured that was how things were supposed to go. Then I met all of you, and got dragged into that crazy idol world. It was different... Everything went against my entire life up until that point, and it was hard to put my all into it at first. When I did, though, I was surprised by how fun it was. I thought things were fine as they were before, that I'd end up having business partners instead of friends, but you all changed that. Having eight friends made me feel these new, exciting feelings... But it also made me regret that it took so long to feel like that."

"Well, I'll make sure everyone apologizes for making you feel bad." Nozomi laughed quietly, pulling Maki back into another, tight hug. "I'm sorry you never got to experience the same stuff we all did when you were younger, and it makes me mad that you weren't appreciated when you were younger. Having gotten to know you, I can't help but to appreciate and love you every day until it hurts. It's so hard to believe others don't see you the way I do."

"You're one of a kind, Nozomi." Maki rolled her eyes, but there was fondness there. She leaned down and gently kissed Nozomi on the forehead. "I'm ready to go inside now. I didn't mean to put that all on you." It seemed like Maki had reached her sharing limit. That was a lot more than Nozomi had ever expected to get at the present time, and she was grateful that Maki trusted her enough in that moment to tell her something that was bothering her. She wasn't done talking to Maki yet, though. Having become more awake and taking in everything that had been told to her, she had an idea of something she wanted to do.

"Wait a minute, Maki." She grabbed Maki's hand to stop her. "I want to take you to some places next weekend. I know you might say you're too old to do those things from childhood, but I want you to experience some of it. At least you can maybe enjoy it before you start university." Maki just stared at her, nonplussed.

"Seriously?" Nozomi nodded earnestly, smiling until Maki couldn't help but to smile back. "Well... Alright, I guess we could... B-But I'm not going to do anything too weird, alright? I'm not going to sit in a sandbox and play with dolls."

"I'll keep that in mind." She laughed, keeping it in mind just in case she wanted to try teasing Maki with it. Letting go of Maki's hand, she smiled and pulled open the door. "Now let's get back inside, okay? I'm freezing my butt off!" Maki just smirked slightly, stepping forward just so that she could stand in the doorway.

"Well maybe you should start wearing pants, then." Maki kept smirking as Nozomi gave her an indignant look, only relenting to move when Nozomi had pushed on her back enough times.

"Not on your life, Nishikino!"

* * *

Giving it some thought, Nozomi knew that despite her cool, mature attitude, Maki had her childish tendencies. Even if she hadn't had what the rest of Muse would consider a normal childhood, she could have her immature moments. Not many seventeen-year-olds still believed in Santa or wore pajamas with stars on them, after all. There were even those glow in the dark stars plastered to her ceiling, at least until Rin's teasing made her take them down. They were kinda cool, though. Like taking a space walk in the comforts of your own room.

Those were childish tendencies, though. That didn't mean she got to experience the normal childhood activities. Nozomi was set on changing that. It wasn't like she was going to make Maki sit down and play with Playdoh or anything. She had some ideas, though, and she'd been thinking about them and writing them down all week, waiting for when Maki was going to visit over the weekend. It just hurt her to know that Maki regretted not experiencing these kinds of things, and she was going all-in on trying to rectify it.

When Maki got there, Nozomi greeted her with a hug and a soft kiss, then led her into her bedroom. Maki looked down at the floor, giving the box on the ground a curious look. "Legos? They still make those?"

"Of course they do! Everyone loves Legos." Nozomi sat down and pointed at the spot across from her. "C'mon, Maki. Did you ever play with Legos as a kid?" Maki rolled her eyes, but sat down without any complaint, grabbing the box and looking at it.

"No. There really wasn't time for any of that. Hmm... They really made a Lego set of Love Live?" She put down the box, allowing Nozomi to grab it and open it up. The pieces were then spilled out onto the floor, along with an instruction booklet.

"Only in Japan. Maybe they'll put us in the next Lego Movie." Nozomi pulled out the instruction booklet and laid it out between them, opening it up so they could both look at the instructions. "So you know what to do, right Maki?"

"Of course I know what to do. There's instructions right there." Maki grumbled and started ripping open bags of pieces, piling them up on the floor. Then she started to sift through them, looking for the pieces she needed to build the stage. "These pieces are so small... The way they do the lights is kind of cool, though."

"Have you seen the figurines they made for us?" Nozomi smirked as she held up little Lego versions of Honoka and Tsubasa. Maki took the Honoka one and examined it closely.

"Well, it does sort of look like her. It has the hair right and all. Where's the rest of us, though?"

"Only the leaders come with the set. The rest of us are relegated to separate purchases." Laughing, Nozomi grabbed a tupperware container and opened it up, pouring out some more figurines. "I bought those, though. Don't worry."

"What are we, chopped liver?" Maki poked around the figurines until she found herself, picking her own Lego self up and looking at it. "Why am I not smiling?" She grabbed a couple more of them, which happened to be Kotori and Rin's. "They're smiling. What the hell? Why am I the only one not smiling?"

"Well, they probably don't have any photographic proof that you've ever smiled." Grinning, Nozomi picked up Umi's figurine and showed it off. "Umi's not smiling either, see?"

"I'm going to lodge a complaint," Maki deadpanned, before going back into the pile and grabbing Nico's figurine. "How come Nico's the same size as us? Don't they have any little versions for someone of Nico's... stature?" She popped off Nico's head - "That felt really good, actually..." - then removed the body, placing Nico's head on one of the leg spikes. "There, that's more like it." Nozomi had to cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing too hard.

"Gods, let me take a picture of that. I'm gonna show Nico." Nozomi pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of the disembodied figurine, giggling the whole time. While she did that, Maki got back to work trying to build the stage, and soon enough Nozomi returned to helping out. They made good headway on the structure, time passing by without either of them really noticing it. Eventually, they had succeeded in building the entire set.

"Wow, it really does look like the stage." Maki admired the tiny replica of Love Live, gently tapping the lights so that they were fixated on the stage. She blinked curiously when Nozomi started to place the figurines on the stage, not bothering to 'fix' Nico's. "Ah, it really does fit perfectly, doesn't it?"

"Yup! And as for Tsubasa..." Nozomi set her on the side of the stage, along with the figurines of Anju and Erena. "They're watching us perform and cheering us on! And as for us..." She made the figurines of herself and Maki face each other, then pushed them in until their faces were touching. "We're making out!"

"N-Nozomi!" Maki blushed and swiped at the figurines, knocking all of them either over or off the stage completely. "Th-That did not happen!"

"But you wish it did, don't you?" Nozomi grinned and moved closer, putting her hands on Maki's legs and looking right into her eyes. "Right in front of all those people. All our adoring fans, getting to see us kiss. Wouldn't it be exciting?"

"I-I do not want that," Maki mumbled, looking down as Nozomi moved in even closer, until their foreheads were touching. "B-But in private, that's fine..." Nozomi didn't wait for her to say anything more. Their lips met, and it wasn't long before Maki had fallen onto her back, Nozomi on top of her. The kisses deepened, tongues engaging with one another, Maki's arms wrapping around Nozomi's back tightly. They were engrossed in their own private make out session, not noticing at first that it wasn't private any longer.

"You could've closed your door, you know." The two lovebirds broke apart immediately, looking at the door to find Eli staring at them with a slight blush on her face. Though it was soon nothing compared to the tomato-red hue Maki's face became. As usual, it was Nozomi who wasn't fazed by their embarrassing scenario. "Ooh, are those Legos?"

"Eli, my girlfriend and I are having a moment here. Would you kindly close the door and go to your room?"

"Okay, but... Is that a Lego set of Love Live? Is there a figurine of me?"

"If you don't walk away, I'm going to shove your figurine somewhere very unpleasant." Paling, Eli quickly shut the door, her footsteps light but audible as she rushed off. "So, uh..." She looked back down at Maki, smiling sheepishly. "Did that kill the mood?"

"Six feet under." Maki groaned and slapped her cheeks gently to try and calm her blush. With the mood dead on impact, Nozomi rolled off of Maki and laid next to her, both of them staring up at the ceiling. "... You know, if you did that with the figurine, Eli would really have her head up her own ass." Nozomi's eyes widened, then she started to laugh hard, rolling over as her whole body shook with laughter.

"I-I can't believe you said! Oh Gods, I love you, Maki!" She kept laughing until she felt her hair being pulled aside, allowing Maki to plant several kisses on her neck.

"I love you too, Nozomi."

"Ooh..." Nozomi shivered, pushing her body back against Maki. "Does that mean the mood's alive again?"

"Well... It's showing signs of life." Maki's voice dropped to a whisper as she ran her tongue along Nozomi's exposed skin. "Let's just say I'm a pretty good doctor."

"Oh doctor, doctor, give me the news." Nozomi turned around to face Maki, slinging an arm over her hips. She leaned in so that Maki's lips could kiss her own. "Mmm, I've got a bad case of loving you."

* * *

Late in the afternoon, the two of them headed out to a nearby park. It was a bit chilly, and there were only a couple people there, though both of them were sitting on a bench. That wasn't what they were going to do, though. They had a date with the swingset.

"I guess it's weird that I've never been to a park," Maki remarked, walking with her hands shoved in her jacket pockets. "I've walked by them before, but there was no point in stopping. I've never really thought that I needed to play here or anything. I was too old for things like this." Normally there would be an acerbic edge to her voice, but there was just tinges of wistfulness and regret. Nozomi took one of Maki's hands out of her pocket so that she could hold it.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, right?" Nozomi smiled, and it made Maki feel more at ease. "Now c'mon, let's go!" She kept her grip tight on Maki's hand and started to run, forcing Maki to run in order to keep up. They made it in record time, though they both were a little out of breath. None of them were still doing those grueling idol workouts in order to stay in shape. "Sit down on the swing, alright? I'll push you!"

Maki sat down on the swing, grabbing the chain links and hissing at how cold they were. She really should've worn gloves... Her grip slackened on them as she tried to hang on without holding them too tightly, lest she get frostbite or something. Then Nozomi grabbed onto Maki's sides and pulled her back, making her yelp and tighten her grip. "N-Nozomi!"

"I gotta get you some movement, hun!" Nozomi laughed at Maki's surprise, letting her go and watching her swing through the air, up, and then come back down. She then pushed Maki again, and they got into a good rhythm. "That's not too high, is it, Maki?" She knew Maki didn't always do so well with heights, so she wanted to make sure she didn't accidentally induce vertigo.

"I-It's alright." It was a little bit high, but Maki didn't want to say anything. There was a sort of thrill to moving in the pendulum motion. It caused this light, airy feeling in her stomach, similar to what happened during takeoff on airplanes. This didn't make her want to scream at the pilot to turn around and let her off, though. It was actually sort of fun. A kind of feeling that she would've really liked as a child, swinging up and down while clutching her childhood stuffed bear under her arm. Despite the height, she found herself smiling, ignoring the chill of the steel chains and kicking her legs out. She felt like a bird.

Nozomi could tell that Maki was having fun. That smile was visible even from where she was standing, and it made her smile as well. Maki having a good time was always priority number one. Even if she was being a teasing little minx, she'd never go farther than Maki's threshold for true acceptability. To see her having fun made her heart soar as high as Maki was.

Eventually they slowed it down, to the point where Maki was just swinging gently under her own power. Nozomi sat down on the swing next to her, swinging a bit higher. She could still be in university and still love the swingset. No judging here. "I loved the swings when I was a kid. My parents were usually busy though, so I'd just swing by myself." That made Maki frown. She wasn't the only one with loneliness in her past.

"Do you want me to push you?" She slowed herself to a stop, but Nozomi shook her head.

"Nah, it's okay, babe. I'm here to push you, remember? This is for you to experience all those things you never got to when you were a kid." Despite that, Maki still stood up and started to walk behind Nozomi. "Maki, don't make me stand up."

"Just sit there, Nozomi. Jeez, don't put up such a fuss." Maki got behind Nozomi and gave her a hug, resting her chin on Nozomi's shoulder. "I never got to push anyone on the swings as a child, so aren't I missing out on that too?" Nozomi rolled her eyes, not really counting doing the work as a missed childhood experience, plus it wasn't like the child ever did the pushing anyway. Still, Maki seemed rather determined, so Nozomi just smiled and let her have her moment.

Nozomi didn't go as high as Maki had. It was likely a combination of Maki's arms only being one level above noodles, and Nozomi being heavier, but it didn't matter how hard she was pushed or how high she went. What was nice was just the fact that someone wanted to do this, to be there and push her on the swings. Even if it was childish, and even if she felt a bit too heavy for it. The fact that Maki wanted to do it, and to share the moment together, was good enough for Nozomi.

"Ya know, this was supposed to be about you, not me. We can focus on me after I'm done with you."

"Mm... Nah." Maki laughed and kept pushing her, completely disregarding what Nozomi had said. "I want to focus on you right now. You're doing these things for me, and... it really means a lot. I don't want you to feel that I don't appreciate. I, uh, I-I really do." It was still a bit embarrassing to admit those kinds of things, even to her girlfriend, but she knew that it was something she had to say. Especially after all that Nozomi was doing for her.

"Even when you don't say anything, I know how you feel." Nozomi smiled to herself, closing her eyes and letting the breeze caress her face. Nobody else got to see the sweetheart side of Maki, and she was thankful that out of all the people in the world, it was her whom Maki chose to entrust her heart to. It made her feel special. "I can feel your love within every inch of my skin."

"J-Jeez, you still love saying embarrassing things, don't you?" Maki didn't mind, though. As long as those embarrassing things kept meaning that Nozomi loved her. So far, that hadn't changed. She let Nozomi's swinging slow to a stop, then gave her another hug. After all those years of being uncomfortable with physical contact, she felt so warm and wanted when engaging in hugs with Nozomi. There was nothing uncomfortable about it anymore. Not when it came to her.

"So Maki, I've got my own ideas, but I was wondering something." She leaned back in the swing, looking up at the sky while Maki took a seat on the other swing. "What's the one thing you never got to do as a child that you really want to do? It can be anything."

"Uhm..." Maki went quiet after that, long enough to where Nozomi sat back up and looked to see if something was wrong. She was sitting in her swing, tugging nervously on the sleeve of her jacket. "P-Promise you won't laugh, okay?"

"Hey, I said it could be anything, didn't I?" Nozomi smiled and swung to her side, grabbing Maki's swing so she could pull them together. "I won't laugh, I promise."

"O-Okay then." Her face started to go red, and it wasn't from the oncoming cold. "So I... I've never really had a birthday party. I mean, I've celebrated it with all of you during high school, but before that, I never really had one. I didn't really have any friends anyway, so it never mattered. No one invited me to their parties either. Not since I was five."

"So you want to have a traditional kid's birthday party."

"I-I mean, it's not my birthday, so that wouldn't be for awhile." Maki seemed like she was retreating into her shell again, embarrassed at wanting something so childish. "With a pinata and... all that... F-Forget it, forget it! That's just dumb. I don't need a party thrown for me, that'd be weird." She might have continued rambling if it wasn't for Nozomi stopping her.

"It's not dumb, Maki. You didn't get to experience it, and you feel that you missed out. People would say that you're too old for it, and you don't want them to judge you." It really hit the nail on the head. All Maki could do was nod shyly, looking down at her shoes. "But I wouldn't judge you for it. I understand. It sounds fun!" Her smile really could light up the darkest nights. "I know it's not your birthday, but I think I can figure something out. You don't mind waiting a couple weeks, do you?"

"Y-You really don't have to do this. Don't go to so much trouble." Nozomi just frowned at her, then let go of her swing, making them both swing back towards the poles of the structure. "A-Ah! Nozomi!"

"I want to do it, Maki, and it's no trouble at all. If it'll make you smile, then it's worth doing." As usual, Nozomi couldn't be persuaded to drop her crazy plans, and Maki couldn't help but laugh. She really was a handful, but she was Maki's handful, and she loved her for it. Even when Nozomi had said she wouldn't laugh, Maki was sure that she would, and she wouldn't have blamed her. It was certainly a lot more childish than swings or Legos. What seventeen year old wanted to have some lame kid's party? She had seen them on TV before, though, and it always looked like the kids there were having fun. Or at least most of them, anyway.

"W-Well, if you insist..."

"I do insist. Just leave it to me!"

* * *

Over the next two weeks, Nozomi was hard at work getting things set up for Maki's party. She wanted to make sure it evoked the nostalgia of a childhood birthday party, but she didn't want it to end up being too expansive. Something too big would make Maki anxious, and then she wouldn't have any fun. That wouldn't do at all. So it had to be a small affair, with just the members of Muse who weren't too busy enough to come.

She also knew that Maki wasn't that interested in candy, so she mostly got Smarties and chocolates to fill up the pinata. Those weren't outrageous enough to turn Maki off, but not so great that everyone would cause a stampede trying to get them. Except for maybe Eli and those chocolates. She'd already told Eli first about her plan, and to warn her that she'd better not eat all the chocolates in one go. Eli had promised she wouldn't, but Nozomi was going to keep an eye on her, just in case.

There wasn't going to be any presents, since Maki insisted that if people were coming, they didn't spend any money on her. It must've been something she really wanted, even if it wasn't her birthday, since she hadn't tried desperately to make it so nobody would come. Though she didn't say it, Nozomi had gotten the vibe from her that it made her feel appreciated that anyone would want to go when they didn't have to. Though she considered it, there also weren't going to be any entertainers. She knew that it'd be funny if she dressed up as a clown and fight people with balloon swords, but in the end she imagined that it'd be overkill.

The party was going to happen in hers and Eli's dorm, with the requisite cake and refreshments stashed away and ready to be taken out when the time was right. Thankfully Eli had been more than willing to help. Otherwise it would've been even more of an undertaking, considering she still had schoolwork to do. It was all worth it, though, since it was for Maki. The only thing left was getting guests to come over.

Throughout the two weeks, she'd been systematically texting the members of Muse to see about their availability. Since they were all still in school, she figured some of them would be busy, even over a weekend, but hopefully some of them would be able to come out and celebrate Maki... well, not birthday, but... existing. Yeah, celebrate her existence.

She already knew that Eli was going to go, but it gave her a sense of relief that Hanayo and Rin were so quick to say yes as well. Nico, Kotori, and Umi were going to be busy, but Honoka was excited to get to eat cake on the weekend. For someone whose family trafficked in tasty treats, she seemed to never get sick of eating sweets. Even now, Umi was surely getting on her case for potentially pigging out. At least some things never changed.

Five people seemed like a good number, so she let them all know the date and time they should be at her dorm, then went about making finishing touches. She was really happy about how it was going, but she hoped that it wasn't too much for Maki. It was all for her enjoyment, after all, so her not feeling comfortable would be a failure on her part. Still, she had a feeling that it would be alright. No one would be there that Maki wasn't good friends with, and it was in a safe environment. She was cautiously confident.

When the day came, everybody met up early in the dorm to prepare. She had given Honoka an earlier time of arrival than for Hanayo and Rin, because she figured that Honoka would end up being late, so it was best to nip that in the bud right off the bat. Her intuition, as usual was right on the money. They all showed up at about the same time. She knew that Hanayo would be on time in the first place, and she'd be able to corral Rin into coming with her, so she didn't have to worry about that.

They all stood or sat around and chatted, with Hanayo having to keep Honoka from drooling on the cake, and Nozomi having to make sure Eli didn't try to break open the pinata herself and grab all the chocolate. That pinata, for safekeeping, was in Nozomi's closet, waiting to be taped up to the ceiling by its string. She hadn't wanted anyone to accidentally bump into it.

Soon enough, Maki texted Nozomi that she was coming over, which she relayed to the rest of the group. Honoka clapped with excitement, affixing a party hat to her head. Nozomi hadn't even bought those: Honoka just had them, and distributed them to everyone whether they asked or not. It was a nice touch, though. She wished that she had thought about it.

They could've all hidden before Maki got there, but it wasn't supposed to be a surprise party. She didn't need to give Maki a heart attack before they even started. So they all stood around and waited for Maki to get there. When she did, she opened the door to find five of her friends waiting for her. Her eyes widened in surprise. She knew that Nozomi had said some of her friends would be there, but she'd figured that most of them would be busy. Four of them had enough time to come placate her silly desires?

"Happy not really your birthday, Maki!" Honoka and Rin shouted together as she walked in, closing the door with a hint of a blush on her face. That's what it also said on the cake, written in icing with little tomatoes dotted on as well. The cake was on a table Nozomi had set up, with soda and several bowls of chips and other snacks filled up for those who wanted them.

"Happy existence, Maki." Nozomi giggled and sauntered over, giving Maki a quick kiss on the lips. "You go mingle, okay? I gotta go get the pinata and hang it up. Didn't want anyone knocking it over before you got here." That made sense to Maki, who took a quick look at Honoka and Rin before nodding in understanding. She went to talk with the others while Nozomi went into her room and fetched the pinata, a blindfold, tape, and a bat. No, it wasn't dangerous to give Maki a bat. She'd just tell everyone to stand back.

"Alright everyone, I've got the pinata!" She set the bat and blindfold down on the couch and gestured to Rin. "C'mon, Rin. Lift me up on your shoulders so I can reach the ceiling.

"R-Rin, no!" Hanayo grabbed Rin's arm to keep her from going on. "J-Just use a chair, Nozomi!" She, Maki, and Eli could tell without it even happening that only bad things could happen if they were allowed to do that. Luckily, Hanayo was able to bring Rin back over, and Nozomi just sighed dramatically before using a chair to reach the ceiling. She taped the pinata's string to the ceiling, then came down without any incident. "Thank goodness..."

"Alright Maki, your time to shine!" She went back to the couch and grabbed the bat and the blindfold, while Hanayo moved the chair out of the way. Nozomi wrapped the blindfold around Maki's eyes, then put the bat in her hands. Then she started to spin the redhead around. "Let me know when you start getting dizzy."

"Nozomi, this is ridiculous. ... Okay wait, stop, I'm getting dizzy." Nozomi stopped, letting Maki acclimate herself again. Clutching the bat tightly, Maki wobbled a bit as she walked forward, trying to work out in her mind how far the pinata was from her. She gave a short, experimental swing with the bat, but hit air instead. Continuing to move, she ended up banging right into the wall. "Ow, what the..." She almost pulled the blindfold up, but she remembered that there was a point to it, so she kept her hand down. Obviously she was facing the wrong way. Now how to find where she was...

Nozomi was muffling her laughter as Maki wandered around the room, trying to figure out where she was. She nearly poked Honoka with the bat, and several times she stopped in place, looking like she was trying to use echolocation to determine her location. Both Nozomi and Rin couldn't contain their laughter when Maki tripped over the couch, embarrassing the poor girl further.

Eventually, she was able to get her bearings, and found the pinata when she ran into it with her face. She stepped back and lifted the bat, letting her aggression do the work as she came down hard on the poor multi-colored horse. A big hole in the pinata came from the hard swat, spilling out its candied guts for a moment before the entire pinata came down to the ground. One of its legs broke, a sure trip to the glue factory now in its future. Honoka shouted out "Mazel tov!" as it crashed down.

Maki pulled off the blindfold to see everyone smiling at her, no longer laughing at her for falling over everything possible in the dorm. "Well done, baby!" Nozomi came over and took the bat out of her hands, patting her back. "You should get first dibs on the candy. It is your party, after all." Maki looked at her, then smiled as she bent down and grab one of the Smarties and two pieces of chocolate. "Alright everyone, now you can dig in!"

Maki was nearly knocked over by Rin, who had immediately dived for the pile. She moved out of the way as Honoka got in there as well, followed by Eli and a more tentative Hanayo. Standing next to Nozomi, she shook her head and smiled fondly, unwrapping a piece of chocolate and popping it into her mouth. "They really haven't changed, have they?" She held up the Smarties near Nozomi's face. "Want a Smartie?"

"I'm okay. Saving room for that cake." Nozomi sneaked several kisses from Maki while the others were clearing up the rest of the candy. "I hope this is alright for you, hun. Elicchi gave me some ideas from her birthday parties. Though no vodka, sorry."

"I think we can do without the alcohol." Chuckling, Maki opened up the Smarties packaging and popped a couple of them onto her tongue. "It's great, Nozomi. I'm really flattered... I don't even care that it's not my birthday. It makes me happy that you went to all this trouble just for me."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all." Nozomi was incredibly relieved that it was going well. She had worked hard on getting this all set up, and there had been that worry in the back of her mind that it wasn't right, or that it was too much. What she had needed was to hear Maki herself give it her beautiful blessing, and what a relief it was to hear it. "Now, it's time for the cake!"

With that call, everyone filed over to the refreshments table, where Nozomi grabbed a box of candles and started to put seventeen candles into the cake. Despite Hanayo timidly asking if they should really be lighting all those candles, Nozomi pulled out a lighter and set the wicks ablaze. Thankfully, this didn't set off the smoke detector - though to Hanayo's later horror, Nozomi admitted that she had removed the batteries just in case. "Alright Maki, make a wish!"

Maki thought about it for a moment, then leaned down and blew out all the candles, becoming somewhat embarrassed when everybody cheered for her. After that, Nozomi removed the candles and cut the cake so that everybody could get a piece, and then they all sat around and chatted for awhile. It was nice to have at least part of Muse back together for hanging out, since school tended to be in the way.

With everyone mostly distracted by cake and conversation, Nozomi was able to grab Maki and sneak off into her room, where she gave the redhead a mysterious smile. "Now, I know you said nobody needed to get you anything-"

"But you got me something."

"I got you something." Grinning now, Nozomi went into the closet and popped out with a small, wrapped box with a bow on top. She offered it to Maki, who took it in her hands and looked at it curiously. "Don't worry: I didn't put myself in the hole paying for it. I mean, I had it custom made, but Etsy is a wonderful website." Now Maki had no idea what it was. There was no point in waiting any longer, so she carefully unwrapped the box and opened it up. Inside was a silver necklace, with what looked like a big cat attached to the chain. "It's a panther! A cutie panther for my cutie panther."

"Nozomi..." Maki put down the box and gently held the necklace in her hands, speechless that Nozomi would get something like that for her. She'd always had it in her mind that giving jewelry to another person was a sign of love, whether that be for a family member or for a significant other. It felt serious for her, and it choked her up. She didn't even know what else to say, though Nozomi seemed to be able to tell that she liked it, and that her silence wasn't a negative thing.

"Want me to put it on for you?" Maki just nodded, letting Nozomi take the necklace and unclasp the lock. Then she moved behind Maki and brushed her hair to the side, allowing her to attach and latch the chain properly. It hung perfectly around Maki's neck, the silver panther gleaming against her chest. "So what do you think, Maki?"

"I... I love it." Maki's face broke out into a big smile, tears prickling at her eyes. She practically dived towards Nozomi, hugging her tightly. "You... You didn't have to get me anything, Nozomi. Really. It's not my birthday."

"I know, but just consider it a present for no reason. I don't need a special occasion to get my girlfriend something nice."

"Jeez, Nozomi..." She rolled her eyes, but there was no hiding that she was happy about it. "Sometimes I still don't understand you. But I still love you. I really do..." They held each other for a little bit longer, Nozomi whispering sweet nothings in Maki's ear. "You know, I still love the necklace, and it was a pretty good song, but... panthers aren't a real animal. They're a legendary creature."

"I know, but that's okay. It still fits! After all, you're legendarily hot, and I can't believe that someone like you exists and that I get to call you my girlfriend." Maki rapidly turned red, hiding her burning face against Nozomi's shoulder.

"Your goal is just to embarrass me, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I only do it because I love ya so much." She was still embarrassed, but she always smiled whenever Nozomi told her she loved her.

"Yeah yeah... I love you too. You and your embarrassing pick-up lines."

"Yay!"


End file.
